Road Accidents in Ghana: Who Should Be Held Responsible?

Road Accidents in Ghana: Who Should Be Held Responsible?

Ghana has once again been confronted with the painful reality of road crashes, with recent accidents on the Ofankor Barrier stretch and the Accra–Kumasi Highway leaving families devastated and raising serious questions about road safety enforcement.

The tragedy at Ofankor Barrier is particularly disturbing. The multiple-vehicle crash on August 13, 2026, involved several vehicles and initially left at least 11 people dead and 13 injured. The National Road Safety Authority later confirmed that the death toll had risen to 12, with 22 people injured.

The Accra–Kumasi Highway has also recorded a series of serious crashes. On August 11, one person was killed and five injured at Asubuo, while another crash near Bunso on August 12 claimed one life and injured 14 people.

These incidents should not simply be treated as unfortunate accidents. They must force the country to ask a difficult question: who is responsible for the growing number of deaths on our roads?

Is the government to blame?

The government cannot be blamed for every individual crash, because drivers ultimately make decisions behind the steering wheel. However, government has a significant responsibility to provide safe roads, proper road markings, adequate lighting, functional traffic-management systems and effective enforcement.

The Accra–Kumasi Highway is one of Ghana’s most important transport corridors, yet concerns about its condition and safety have persisted. A member of Parliament’s Roads and Transport Committee recently described the highway as a “death trap” and called for urgent rehabilitation.

Government therefore has a duty to address dangerous sections before they become repeated accident blackspots. Road construction alone, however, will not solve the problem. Infrastructure must be accompanied by enforcement and responsible driving.

What about MTTD and law enforcement?

The Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service also has an important role to play.

Road safety laws are only meaningful when they are consistently enforced. Speeding, dangerous overtaking, driving under the influence, overloading, defective vehicles, illegal parking and obstruction of major roads should attract immediate consequences.

There should also be stronger surveillance on known accident-prone areas. If a particular location repeatedly records crashes, authorities should not wait for another tragedy before acting.

But drivers must accept responsibility too

Drivers cannot escape responsibility.

A driver who speeds, overtakes dangerously, drives while fatigued, ignores traffic signs or parks in a dangerous location is making a conscious decision that can cost another person their life.

The Ghana Drivers’ Guide also recognises the danger posed by vehicles that remain on roads and obstruct traffic, particularly when a breakdown is expected to cause prolonged obstruction. (Ministry of Roads and Highways)

Professional drivers, especially commercial and heavy-duty vehicle operators, should be held to an even higher standard because they carry large numbers of passengers or operate vehicles capable of causing devastating damage.

What should happen to people who park unlawfully?

Illegal parking should no longer be treated as a minor inconvenience.

A vehicle parked on a busy highway, at a blind spot, near a junction, on a pedestrian crossing or in a manner that obstructs traffic can create the conditions for a fatal crash.

Authorities should consider a tougher and more consistent system:

• Immediate removal or towing of vehicles causing dangerous obstruction.
• Substantial fines for unlawful parking, with higher penalties for repeat offenders.
• Penalty points or licence sanctions for persistent offenders.
• Vehicle impoundment for serious or repeated violations.
• Criminal prosecution where reckless parking directly contributes to serious injury or death.
• Stronger enforcement against commercial vehicles that stop indiscriminately to pick up or drop off passengers.
• Clear signage and designated parking areas so motorists cannot claim ignorance of the rules.

The objective should not simply be to collect fines. The objective should be to make dangerous parking sufficiently costly that motorists think twice before putting other road users at risk.

We must stop looking for one person to blame

The road-safety crisis is bigger than government, MTTD or drivers alone.

Government must provide safe infrastructure.
MTTD and other enforcement agencies must enforce the law.
NRSA must continue road-safety education and intervention.
Transport operators must maintain their vehicles and discipline their drivers.
Drivers must obey traffic regulations.
Passengers and pedestrians must also act responsibly.

But accountability must accompany every responsibility.

When a dangerous road condition is known and ignored, authorities must answer questions. When a driver behaves recklessly, the driver must face the law. When a commercial operator repeatedly violates safety regulations, the operator must be sanctioned. And when someone parks a vehicle unlawfully in a manner that creates a serious danger, enforcement must be swift.

The recent deaths at Ofankor and the repeated crashes along the Accra–Kumasi corridor should not become another news cycle that disappears after a few days.

Every person who dies on Ghana’s roads is someone’s parent, child, sibling, spouse or friend. Road safety must therefore be treated as a national emergency, not merely a traffic issue.

The question Ghana should now be asking is not only “Who caused this accident?” but also:

“What could have been done to prevent it, who failed to do it, and what will we change before the next life is lost?”

BY; Regina Bless